1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an auger-type poultry chiller and, in particular, to a poultry chiller having an auger with multiple long-pitch blades around the auger shaft causing increased cooling and agitation of the poultry carcasses in the chiller.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
After evisceration, slaughtered poultry carcasses must be rapidly chilled to preserve the quality of the meat. Various types of poultry chillers are known in the art, but one common type is an auger-type poultry chiller. Auger-type chillers are typically in the form of semi-cylindrical tanks filled with chilled water. The carcasses are placed in one end of the tank and moved to the other end by a rotating auger. In order to prevent clumping of the carcasses and to obtain good contact between the poultry carcasses and the chilled water, the chilled water may be agitated by various means, including air bubbles. While the prior art techniques for agitating the chilled water can provide sufficient agitation in some circumstances to achieve good contact between the carcasses and the chilled water, and to minimize clumping of the carcasses, a more effective technique is needed. A drawback of the prior art auger chillers is that the poultry carcasses are locked into one flight of the auger as they move through the chiller. For this reason, it is commonly seen that one flight of a chiller is overloaded while the chiller as a whole is relatively empty. The exception is when the carcasses flow over the top of the auger and move from one flight to the next. This can cause one flight to be loaded too heavily and also influence how long the carcasses remain in the chiller before exiting.
The limitations of the prior art are overcome by the present invention as described below.